<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Your Own Worst Critic by Krisbeecream</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248329">Your Own Worst Critic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krisbeecream/pseuds/Krisbeecream'>Krisbeecream</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien defends Ladybug, Fluff, Lila's Lies, Marinette Dupain-Cheng needs a nap, One Shot, one-sided reveal, prompt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:55:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248329</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krisbeecream/pseuds/Krisbeecream</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They had about ten minutes before the bell would ring, and Madame Bustier wasn’t there yet, so Max and Kim had commandeered the laptop to screen the Ladyblog’s highest-hit video yet, titled “Top 10 Epic Ladybug Moments.” It took everything Marinette had left in her not to audibly groan.</p><p>	To civilians, that compilation was a menagerie of their heroine’s most impressive feats captured on camera. To Marinette, it was just ten times she could have died.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>232</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Your Own Worst Critic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a particularly rough week to be Ladybug. Five Akumas, two times her transformation almost ran out on her mid-battle, a collective 20 hours of sleep in 7 days, and a mountain of homework accumulating as the girl spent all of her free time acquainting herself with her new Guardian duties. So when Marinette wandered into class on that Friday morning, the only thing on her mind was ignoring the fact that Ladybug even existed.</p><p>	That state of mind was short-lived, as Marinette took her seat nursing a piping hot triple-shot latte and rubbed her tired eyes to more clearly see what her classmates were using the projector for. They had about ten minutes before the bell would ring, and Madame Bustier wasn’t there yet, so Max and Kim had commandeered the laptop to screen the Ladyblog’s highest-hit video yet, titled “Top 10 Epic Ladybug Moments.” It took everything Marinette had left in her not to audibly groan.</p><p>	To civilians, that compilation is a menagerie of their heroine’s most impressive feats captured on camera. To Marinette, it was just ten times she could have <i>died.</i> Ten times she could’ve been splatted on the concrete, ten times she could’ve been captured by a hypnotized army, ten times her identity could have been spilled to all of Paris and the world, putting her and her loved ones in grave danger. She had watched the video when it was first posted the week before, if only for the novel experience of being able to review her own combat footage and critique herself.</p><p> And critique herself she had.</p><p> Careless, thoughtless, over-confident, reckless, sloppy, she couldn’t count on both hands the number of mistakes she made in just those ten clips. It made her feel as though she had miles, lightyears to go before she would ever be good enough to defeat Hawkmoth.</p><p>	It seemed the class was on the third clip now. Marinette turned to see Alya beaming with pride up at the screen, quite excited that the amateur footage she had cut together now had over 200,000 views on her website. Marinette was definitely proud of her best friend, but she desperately wished the girl’s hobby didn’t include near-constant surveillance of Marinette’s alter-ego. Alix cheered suddenly, jarring Marinette as she nearly spilled her boiling beverage onto her white blouse before her eyes snapped to the screen. Alix had reacted to seeing Ladybug dive from the very top point of the Eiffel Tower, hooking onto a lamp post at the exact right second to avoid becoming a red spotted pancake while also pushing a baby in an unattended stroller to safety out of the path of some falling debris.</p><p>	She remembered that moment, of course. The entire way down, as she tucked her arms at her sides and pointed her toes to make herself more aerodynamic, Ladybug had not believed she would make it in time. She had spotted the falling chunk of concrete and rebar, identified that the stroller was occupied with no one else near enough to save its precious cargo, and taken an uncalculated leap of fate. Ladybug had figured she would either sustain life-changing injuries, die, fail to reach the poor innocent infant in time, or some combination of those options. Marinette began to wish she were a hermit crab so she could have a portable, comfy place to retreat into right about then and avoid all of these painful reminders.</p><p>	At that moment, Lila spoke. The sound nearly sizzled in Marinette’s ears. “I remember that one,” she lied, her eyes full of fake concern. “I was there taking a walk with an elderly woman I visit from time to time, when the sky seemed to start falling!" </p><p> The class turned in an instant, frothing for more information. Rose practically bubbled over.</p><p>"Oh my goodness! I'm so glad you're safe now. Did you see the baby get returned safely to its mother?" the pixie-haired girl questioned genuinely.</p>

<p>Lila bowed her head, taking her time to let the mood of the room sink with anticipation as Kim lunged to pause the video temporarily. After a deep breath, she began spinning her web again. "I actually warned Ladybug about the baby in the stroller, but she told me that she had ‘bigger problems’ right then and that she’d only help the baby if she had time.” Lila clasped her hands over her heart, looking down with a frown and shaking her head.</p><p>	A few gasps rang around the room, and Marinette's mental groan nearly turned into an aloud screech. Could she never have peace from this, even for a second? There was plenty to criticize about her performance as Ladybug without having to make things up! Thankfully, Alya’s journalistic integrity caused her to pipe up, attempting to get the full story.</p><p>	“If that’s true, why didn’t <i>you</i> save the baby?” Alya asked genuinely, both wanting to trust Lila as her friend and not wanting to believe that Ladybug would be so callous.</p><p>	Without missing a beat, Lila replied, “Oh, I wanted to! But it was much too dangerous. There were rocks and pieces of metal falling all over the place, and I couldn’t get enough cover to make it out to the stroller. I didn’t have a <i>supersuit</i> to protect me.” A tear formed in her eye as she purposefully hitched her voice briefly. “I still tried, but I wasn’t close enough when I saw the boulder falling right toward that innocent child. I had to run to safety under a tree, so I screamed for Ladybug, and only <i>then</i> did she finally decide to help.”</p><p>	“That’s just awful,” Mylene murmured, shocked. A few other students offered their solemn agreement, muttering their hopes that Ladybug had just had a lot on her mind at the time, taking in their classmates' tall tale as fact.</p><p>	“Oh, come on!” Marinette realized she had shouted that out loud, and all eyes shot to her in an instant. She gulped as even Adrien, who had been otherwise enraptured in the video playing at the front, turned his golden head around to look up at her questioningly.</p><p>	“Really, girl? Every time?” Alya shook her head, placing a hand on her forehead in disappointment that her bestie couldn’t contain her jealousy of Lila for five minutes.</p><p> No turning back now, Marinette decided to voice her thoughts. It felt like she just couldn't hold some of them in anymore. “Plenty of you have been saved by Ladybug! Did she seem like she would just let a baby die because she was <i>busy</i>?!” Murmured disagreements were heard throughout the classroom as people looked back and forth at each other. “Listen, Ladybug has flaws. Hell, <i>tons</i> of flaws! But has she ever put off saving a civilian when they were in need?”</p><p>	“I have to agree with Marinette, unfortunately, Lila,” Alya relented, and the words stung Marinette. What did she mean by ‘unfortunately?’ “Ladybug always has the time to scoop me out of harm’s way when I’m chasing down Akumas for a statement. Even though <i>I’m</i> the one putting myself in danger.”</p><p>Ah, so she is self-aware, Marinette thought to herself as she slumped down in her chair further.</p><p>	“Maybe she was just having a bad day that day, or maybe her timer was running out,” Lila shrugged, acting as if she were still on the spotted heroine's side. “I don’t know why she did it. I’m just thankful that the baby ended up okay. You’re right, Marinette. Ladybug has <i>tons</i> of flaws, just like all of us.”</p><p>	“You can say that again,” Marinette groaned as another clip played on the screen. All Marinette saw was a sloppy landing, a lack of awareness of her surroundings, and a cruel disregard to the fact that Chat Noir was standing behind her fending off minions so that she could come up with a plan for her Lucky Charm. “Look at her! It’s like she doesn’t care about Chat Noir at all. She should have gotten to higher ground before she just stopped like that out of the blue. And what was <i>with</i> that landing? She would have broken her ankle if it weren’t for the magic suit!”</p><p>	Adrien was still staring at her, his mouth hanging open slightly, his brows knit together tightly. </p><p>	“But she ends up okay! She made a plan and didn’t let Chat get captured!” Alya offered, pointing at the screen, where the action was resolving.</p><p>	“Yeah, but only because Chat carried that whole battle! Ladybug couldn’t do anything by herself. She’d basically be useless without him there to take all of her punches.”</p><p>	“Hey, Chat Noir isn’t a punching bag!” Nino piped up. “He contributes more than just being a bodyguard.”</p><p>	“Exactly,” Marinette nodded, taking a deep chug of tongue-burning nectar from her cardboard cup. “He contributes more than Ladybug ever could, because he’s actually brave. She just has a better power. It’s sheer dumb luck.” She shrugged, setting down her coffee and crossing her arms.</p><p>	“That’s ridiculous.” Adrien finally spoke, jolting Marinette as she looked at him. There was palpable rage in his eyes, and she wasn’t sure what she could’ve said to make him so upset.</p><p>	“Oh, and what do <i>you</i> think of Ladybug, Adrien?” Alya asked excitedly, pausing the video from her phone and poising her pen on her notepad to try to take down a quote. A big celebrity speaking about Paris’ star hero would be good for clickbait when the amateur reporter didn't have a regular story to post someday.</p><p>	“Ladybug is the most capable, talented, clever, and selfless person in all of Paris!” Adrien exploded, unable to contain himself either. He had bit his tongue when Lila spoke, remembering the promise they had made that she would leave Marinette alone if he continued to act as Lila’s friend. She hadn’t been defaming Ladybug <i>too</i> badly, just sewing little seeds of doubt which hopefully wouldn’t take root. But to hear Marinette trashing his Lady... he couldn’t stand for it. What had gotten into her? Marinette had personally worked with Ladybug as Multimouse! Was she angry that she had her Miraculous privileges revoked after one battle? That didn’t seem like her.</p><p>	Marinette’s eyes were bulging as she stared at Adrien. She had some idea by then that her crush admired Ladybug, as everyone seemed to (except Lila), but she had no idea he was such a fan. Despite her passion for the boy, she found herself immediately growing jaded at that. Just another person idolizing her Miraculous alter-ego without knowing her at all under the spots. What did Adrien know about Ladybug? She tried to contain herself from being angry at the boy she loved, but her brain was a dizzy fog from lack of sleep. She took yet another large gulp of her scalding coffee, working to unknit her angry eyebrows and relieve some of the tension from her forehead.</p><p>	Adrien continued. “Neither Chat Noir nor Ladybug could work without the other. They’re <i>both</i> important! Ladybug only stopped suddenly in that clip because there were more minions ahead of her that the camera didn’t pan to show. Plus, that Lucky Charm was an ice cube! She needed to use it right away before it melted.”</p><p>	“What are you, an eye witness?” Alix asked, reclining in her seat with her feet up on the desk.</p><p>	“Oh…” Adrien realized he had revealed perhaps a bit too much of his knowledge in the heat of his passion. “I spend a lot of time on the Ladyblog.” He searched the paused image on the screen desperately for a detail to latch onto, and was rewarded for his efforts. He recognized the game store Ladybug and Chat Noir were standing in front of. “And I was there!” Marinette blanched, her eyes going wide with something Adrien couldn’t place before he continued. “I was inside that game store there… uh... grabbing a new controller with my bodyguard.”</p><p>	Marinette sighed as she slumped against the back of her bench. As Adrien’s passionate words soaked in through her wall of exhaustion, the girl began to snap out of her stupor of irritation for anyone blindly supporting Ladybug. The young model really seemed to know his stuff; he clearly paid attention. Marinette’s eyes began to sparkle with joy that he cared enough to defend her like that, even against herself. As her hopeless crush pointed at the screen, Marinette saw the glint of his silver ring under the fluorescent classroom lights. The ring on the very same finger that Chat Noir, her other blond-haired green-eyed passionate supporter, wore his on. <i>That’s just a coincidence, right?</i> </p><p>	Her bluebell eyes combed the image for anything to corroborate his story, her analytical mind grasping onto the errant thought with more fervor than she otherwise allowed herself when it came to pondering Chat Noir's identity. She didn't want to know, after all. Secret identities were meant to be secret. Marinette was both flattered and nervous to think that Adrien had been there watching her mid-battle. She wondered if she’d be able to see him in the window of the game store. When she saw one tiny detail, however, she froze.</p><p>	The game store was closed. It was unmistakable. The light indicating “Open” was turned off, and the black and orange sign hanging on the door had been flipped around to show the “Sorry, We’re Closed” side. It was difficult to make out in the grainy cell phone footage, but the person capturing the shot had a steady hand, and it was clear that all the lights inside were off. Marinette opened her mouth to point that out, but caught Adrien’s look as he turned around once more to see if she was convinced.</p><p>She stared into those beautiful eyes, those deep, verdant eyes. Chat Noir’s eyes were green, and Marinette's had been as well when she used the Black Cat Miraculous, but Chat’s eyes had been green when he had acted as Misterbug as well. It was the kind of green she could lose herself in, green like a rainforest canopy reflecting the sun. Green like Adrien’s eyes. As the boy in front of her gazed up at her hopefully, Marinette shook the thought from her head, flicking her eyes once again to the ring on his right hand before she made eye contact once more.</p><p>Letting a small smile spread across her face, she finally was able to find her words again. “You’re right, Adrien. They’re both important. Maybe I should give her more credit. She’s lucky to have you as a… fan,” Marinette decided, putting a knowing amount of emphasis on her choice of descriptor. Adrien raised one eyebrow, satisfied but confused. Marinette merely shrugged as her smile grew wider, staring at the boy she loved as the image of her partner began to take shape in him.</p><p>“Well, I’m glad that’s settled,” Alya said, pulling up a new video on her phone. “Anyway, let’s watch ‘Top 10 LadyNoir Almost Kisses’ next.” She grinned as she hit play, Marinette turning a delightful shade of red and slinking down beside her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to samiscool on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord for the prompt! Original prompt text:</p><p>"Marinette absolutely hates watching all the footage people capture of Ladybug. From her perspective that “Top 10 Epic Ladybug Moments” comp is the top ten times she could have died. One day the class ends up watching some videos off the ladyblog and Marinette starts relentlessly criticizing every little mistake Ladybug made. Of course she’s her own worst critic but the rest of the class doesn’t know that. They’re just u shocked silent at Marinette tearing into their hero. Adrien pops up to defend Ladybug’s honor from herself. (Basically trying to craft the thematic opposite of those ‘marinette defends chat noir as a vital hero’ fics.)"</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>